It's Genetic
by Lore55
Summary: Genius intellect, that is. It goes with the gene that turns things red and is followed by a leaning towards one or the other side of the law. In which Wally West and Jack Spicer are cousins.
1. Chapter 1

It was not uncommon for Jack to be awake at the ungodly hours of the morning, working on some project or another.

It was also not unusual for Wally to be in his kitchen at this same time, raiding it for whatever food he could find.

July 5th, 2011, was the first time he'd ever been there in a shredded, friction proof suit though.

For a second the two red heads stared at each other before Jack pulled out one of the chairs from the table and sat down, dropping his crescent wrench on the oak.

"So, what's up?"

Wally swallowed before speaking. "Hero stuff. What's up with you?"

Jack lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Villain stuff."

"Cool."

The silence between them became awkward pretty quickly. Never one to let the talking stop for long Jack broke the quiet.

"So…" he drawled.

"Yeah?" Wally prompted, arching a brow behind what remained of his mask.

"What exactly happened?" Jack gestured to the torn yellow and red fabric. It hung on the lanky runner in strips, revealing quickly healing cuts and bruises on the fair skin that seemed to be a family trait. To be assured Jack had the lightest skin of anyone from Ira West's lineage, being an actual albino, but Wally was still very easy to burn. Family traits also extended to the brilliant red hair that Jack dyed white locks to get in a mimicry that was just a few shades too neon.

It had been because of Wally that Jack wanted red hair when his parents asked him about dye, actually.

Wally, the only person in the family who could understand exactly what he was saying and contribute to a conversation while at the same time being willing to talk about how the newest super heroes and villains that were popping up. They had been nearly inseparable when they were kids, up until around three years ago when each had gotten seriously interested in their personal fields. Wally had become a super hero and Jack had a super villain.

They still got along like two peas in a pod.

Wally's heavily heaved sigh brought Jack back to the present and he looked up, red eyes meeting green. There was a weariness about him that was normally absent from the carefree speedster.

Jack kicked a chair to him and Wally sat, yanking the rest of his mask away before beginning his tale of the long night he'd had.

First he'd been treated like a _sidekick_(Jack had never heard anyone say the word with so much distain), then he'd gone off with his friends into a genetics lab that had _fifty two_ sublevels, a menagerie of living weapons, all of which had been unleashed on him and his friends.

The speedster had been chased, nearly crushed, beaten to a pump, had DNA extracted directly, chased some more, taken another beating, and had a ceiling dropped on top of his head before getting a lecture from one of the scariest men on the planet, as well as a full month grounding from official hero duty.

Jack was sympathetic and, once Wally had finished his vent, went on to describe his latest failure to capture a Shen Gong Wu, the beating he'd taken from the monks and the berating and belittling of Wuya.

The two cousins sat in companionable silence for several minutes, the only sound the crunching of chips that Wally had commandeered.

"Did you ever figure out how the Shen Gong Wu or the Xiaolin Showdowns work?" Wally asked when the wall clock chimed four in the morning.

Jack shook his head. "Nope. I've got theories. Most of them are energy manipulation, psychic enhancements, and matter alteration, as well as pocket dimensions and phase shifting mixed with major hallucinogenics," Jack answered, spouting the most bull shit he had all night. It was magic, he knew that. Wally just didn't believe, so to make sure that Wally didn't write him off as crazy or stupid.

The boy still nodded, apparently mulling the suggestions over.

After a few more minutes Jack spoke again.

"If you're not doing hero things for a while, wanna come with me to get the next Wu?" he asked.

Wally started, staring at his cousin in surprise. The surprise melted into a smile within a few seconds.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to see one of these Showdowns you're always so on about," he admitted, straightening up. A wince followed soon after and Wally's had went to his side. "Once these ribs stop being bruised," he amended.

Jack grinned and pumped his fist into the air.

"Awesome! I might actually win this time!"

Wally laughed, kicking his legs up on the table with only a small hiss.

"With me there, how can you lose?"


	2. Chapter 2

When Wally set the terms of the Showdown he hadn't actually expected them to be transported to the Mirror World. He had just said it because Mirror Tag sounded like a good way to do it. Needless to say the shift in dimensions had thrown him for a real loop. It didn't keep him stunned for long. It was pure instinct that had him side stepping a wave of water.

_Hydrokinesis? _

Had to be. Jack let out a shriek from where he was running from a fire ball, causing his cousin to snort. He still sounded like a girl.

At least some things stayed the same.

The ginger looked around, hopping over punch thrown by the Texan that was, somehow, a monk. He wasn't going to use his super speed unless it was an absolute emergency but he wasn't going to lay down and accept defeat the way he did in dodge ball.

It was pretty simple, you hit someone they get sent to the other side of the mirrors with the supposed dragon, Dojo. The only catch was you had to hit them with a Wu. That would be interesting considering Jack had handed him a snake-lasso-thing while he had a stick that had something to do with primates. His pride and joy, the Monkey Spear. Apparently it temporarily rewrote his DNA.

The lasso Wally didn't know about, and so settled for waiting it out, dodging attacks and observing. His mind took off, running with observations and information. He saw Jack knock out the Japanese girl and the blond boy before he was hit by the little kid with the water ball.

This left Wally alone with him and the sword wielding boy. Wally stepped away from them, fingering his lasso. Oh boy.

It was only his years of being a hero that kept him from being beaten by them. He didn't feel as bad about playing dirty as he should have, a fact that he blamed on Jack. The older boy was just a bad influence.

Wally darted into the nearest mirror, coming out a long ways away. He started running, risking getting lost and knowing that he wouldn't be. He knew this place well and the part they were in was only a fraction of what the world really had to offer. So the games couldn't send them to the whole dimension. That was good to know.

When he burst through a mirror behind the boy he threw the lasso out, not bothering with a verbal command. He would sound like some cartoon character shouting out his ultimate attack.

_Kame hame ha,_ he thought to himself, letting the lasso drop around the tiny bald one. The boy that had to be younger than he was yelped as he was pulled off his feet and thrown into one of the mirrors, leaving just Wally and the last boy. What had his name been? Ray? Rye? Something like that.

Wally had to admit, he was better with that sword than he was with his reptile. Unfortunately Wally was faster than the kid could ever hope to be. He made sure it was just barely.

Wally started stepping back and away from the flying blade, letting the loop of the lasso fall to the ground. He kept moving back, dodging. The kid kept coming forwards, oblivious.

Wally jumped and yanked the lasso hard. Rye's foot was ripped out of from under him, sending him tumbling back to where another mirror had appeared to suck him out.

Wally was alone in the Mirror world for just a few minutes before light started shining through all portals, blinding him. When his sight came back he was standing in the corn field the whole thing had started with, a pile of objects in front of him. The others were staring at him slack jawed.

Jack was the first to react, leaping into the air with a wild cheer. Wally grinned, pumping his fist in victory.

"Ha!" Jack shouted, pointing at the monks, "Take that, Xiaolin Losers!"

Wally snickered, leaning down to start gathering everything in his arms. "Okay, I'll admit it, that was kinda fun," the ginger at last conceded, inclining his head to his cousin.

The gothic boy picked up the rest of the Wu that wouldn't fit in the younger's arms.

"I told you so. You should have done this with me years ago," Jack complained.

Wally rolled his eyes. "Evil Boy Genius and Super Hero Wannabe aren't exactly compatible titles."

"Come on man, we make a great team," Jack shoved his shoulder.

The freckled teen made a show of trying to kick his cousin's rear end. "Yeah, you scream like a girl and I run away. Perfect team."

"We still won."

The monks were left to watch the cousins wander away in wonder.

"Wait!" the shortest one shouted after them.

The two stopped, turning to give him a cursory glance. The boy was staring directly at the natural red head.

"Who are you?" he questioned, sounding so honestly confused Wally had to answer him.

"West," he said simply, shrugging. Jack snorted from his side. Wally kicked him again.

Above their heads a bird wheeled away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Nightmaster000: Thank you.**

**Minori: Glad you think so.**

* * *

Their laughter made his ears burn.

Jack clenched his fists, glaring at the monks who continued to gloat about their victory, holding not only the Viper Vajra but his prized Monkey Staff as well. His cousin stood next to him, glowering darkly at the group.

"They're supposed to be the good guys?" Wally asked, sounding incredulous, "They sound worse than you do!"

Jack turned his glare on the other red head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," the older boy said, his patience exaggerated, "They're bullies."

The made him pause.

"What?"

Wally sighed, running a hand through his hair before he turned away from the group that had beaten and bruised his cousin so as to avoid giving them a good trashing himself. He meant what he said.

"They're bullies. They're going beyond just winning the game, they're going to humiliate and hurt you because they can and because they think it's funny. They're like the kids at my school. Bullies."

He never thought he would say something like that about people who were supposed to be the good guys.

Of course, he never thought he would pal around his cousin, helping him in his life of evil.

Things were happening all over these days.

"I… never thought of it that way," Jack said, his expression turning to one of contemplation, then one of offense. "They're supposed to be the good guys!"

Wally snorted. "Yeah, they are. Talk about Ironic, huh? But seriously dude, just because they're the good guys doesn't mean they're good people. I treat the Rogues way better than they treat you, even when they have me in the Death Trap of the Week."

"Death Trap of the Week huh?" Jack grinned, his mood shifting the second the idea settled into his head.

Wally almost laughed, tossing an arm around the artificial gingers shoulders to turn him away from the now confused monks.

"C'mon, I'll tell you some of the cooler ones the guys have cooked up," he offered, "As long as you buy pizza."

Jack nodded enthusiastically. "As long as you don't eat any more of my pudding cups!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 at last!**

**Reviews; **

**UnlockedPotential: Thank you, it was stuck in my head for a long time before I actually sat down to write it so I'm glad you like it. **

**Utheniniel1576: Thank you! I know actually that some of my spelling is glitchy but I'm very glad that it's not destracting. I love these two and I hope I keep getting them accurately.**

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The next time Jack saw his cousin he was in the middle of tweaking one of his robots, completely in the science zone. It was where he belonged, really, more than any magic fight. He knew that by then, after years of fighting the monks. He wasn't compatible with magic, and whenever he used it it felt wrong.

The now familiar crackle of Heylin magic that twitched under his skin every time he activated a Wu made him feel like he had connected two wires wrong and was about to be electrocute.

He never was, thankfully, but that never stopped it from feeling unnerving.

His robots were much more comfortable, familiar in their inner most workings, their programming, and the way the gears and wires connected and meshed perfectly under his skilled hands. Chest plates and armor soldered on, immobile until they were destroyed. Always destroyed by the monks, no matter how hard he worked.

The seventeen year old was shaking off the depressing thoughts, and so not focusing on the heavy sheet of metal he was carrying to one of his benches, when his boot got caught in a long chord, sending him flying to the ground.

His eyes squeezed shut, he tensed for the impact.

Instead he felt an arm wrap around his middle and the only thing to hit was ground was the metal, which did so with a great clatter.

Jack jerked, head snapping to the side to see his cousin with an arm around his middle, a smile on his face and blossoming bruise on his cheek. Jack put his hand on his cousins shoulder, using it to steady himself as he stood up.

"Hey," he greeted, "When did you get here?" Knowing Wally and himself it could have been five seconds or five hours.

Wally stayed still until the albino of the pair had his feet under him then moved away. Jack noted that he was moving gingerly, his arms far from his sides.

"About five minutes ago," Wally shrugged, "Need a hand?"

Jack nodded and the pair grabbed the sheet together and took it to the work bench before Jack stepped away from it and to his family.

"What happened to your face?" he asked, the scornful tone coming out naturally and without thought. It earned him an annoyed glare.

"I got punched by a robot with Superman's powers," he informed him tersely.

Jacks eyes widened. "How did that happen?"

Wally shifted to sit on the bench. "It all started when Batman called us into the briefing room…."

Jack listened to his tale of misfortune and pain, of broken bones and angry clones. Wally's life was probably just as adventurous as his, and he noticed that both of them somehow always ended up getting hurt, no matter how routine something was supposed to be. Maybe it was curse. He knew he hadn't had such bad luck before he dyed his hair.

"It must be a ginger thing," he said absently.

Wally stopped, squinted at him. "Maybe it's a genius thing?"

Jack started nodding solemnly. "A ginger genius thing."

Wally snorted and the both of them fell into laughter, companionable and comfortable.

"Speaking of genius," Wally said once he regained his breath, "are you ready to go back to school?"

A smile, wicked and smug and mean, slid onto Jack's face. That's right, he hadn't told his tormented cousin the good news he'd received over the summer.

"I'm not going back," he said. Wally stared at him, confusion on his face.

"Your parents would no way let you drop out," he said. He was right too, his mother loved him but she, like his father, was a socialite. They viewed other people's opinions and the ability to catch flies with words more than technology or general intelligence, let alone specialized genius that everyone but Inez had. Inez was the only second generation decedent of Ira that had actual social skills. So maybe she was genius in that way, but the boys were specialized with chemicals and mechanics respectively.

It was weird, really, that Rudy and Jack's folks weren't more proud of their children. They were born to one of the greatest physicists of all time, yet they only gave the barest congratulations about their children's brains.

"I got cleared for early graduation. I'm free!" He declared, in spite of his musings. He usually tried to avoid that train of thought. It got too depressing.

Wally stared at him in utter disbelief. "You're kidding." When Jack didn't agree Wally's shock showed on his face. "You're serious?"

Jack nodded and propped his fists on his hips, laughing proudly. "Freedom!" he declaired loudly.

Wally groaned and his head flopped back on his shoulders.

"Damn it Jack. You suck."

Jack rolled his eyes. And people said he was childish? "What, you aren't happy for me?" he prodded, poking Wally's arm pointedly.

The young super hero swatted at his hand idly.

"I'm still stuck being an outlier and you can do whatever you want now. That is so not fair. I want out of school too!" he whined loudly.

"Then you should be a better genius," Jack retorted, his own pride bubbling at Wally's belly aching. He would have liked if he had just been congratulated or praised but this was good too. It was better than the pat on the head his parents had given him, along with a new suite for a party he was 'invited' to at the end of the week.

Wally kicked at his leg, causing the boy to yelp and jump back in instinct. The other ginger stared at him blankly.

"Have you ever considered Xanax?"

Jack pushed him off the bench.


End file.
